Jonathan Toews seems to thinks so. When asked if there was a younger player in the league whom he admires, the Chicago Blackhawks centre did not hesitate to come up for an answer.

“I always kind of recognize the guys who do have a ton of skill but are playing a two-way game and aren’t filling the net or getting the points every single night,” Toews said during Thursday’s Player Media Tour. “Bo Horvat is a guy who I like because of the way he works. If you go head-to-head with a centreman like that, you’re not going to have an easy night.”

It’s the kind of compliment that should make Horvat an easy choice to wear the ‘C’ with the Canucks this season.

“I think definitely it would be an unbelievable honour,” said Horvat, who scored a career-best 27 goals and 61 points last season.

The captaincy in Vancouver has been vacant ever since Henrik Sedin retired at the end of the 2017-18 season. Horvat, who is 24 years old, said there is no rush to anoint someone new. But with the team looking to take that step towards making the playoffs, having an official leader could come in handy.

“We added some good depth guys, some good core guys,” he said of the off-season moves that brought forwards J.T. Miller and Micheal Ferland, as well as defencemen Tyler Myers and Jordie Benn, to Vancouver. “It shows that (GM Jim Benning) wants to win and he wants to take that next step. For a young player going into Year 6 already, I want to take that next step too. I want to make the playoffs.”

CAPTAIN CRUSHING BURGERS

What did Horvat make of the Twitter pics that jokingly compared Elias Pettersson’s off-season physical transformation to that of Captain America?

“I was like ‘geezus.’ I wonder if I’m going to be able to still push him around,” said Horvat, laughing. “He does look beefier. Hopefully it’s good weight. Hopefully, he didn’t crush burgers all summer.”

Indeed, after leading the team with 28 goals and 66 points in just 71 games, a lot will be expected of Pettersson. But while the expectations are daunting, Horvat doesn’t believe his teammate will be affected.

“They always talk about the sophomore slump,” said Horvat. “I went through it. I’m not going to say it doesn’t exist. But some other players, it just doesn’t faze them at all. (Pettersson) knows what he needs to do. He’s smart that way. I don’t think it’s going to bother him.”

BARZAL WON’T SIGN JUST YET

With so many restricted free agents still awaiting new contracts, it wasn’t surprising that Arizona’s Clayton Keller decided to sign a new deal before his old one was up. But don’t expect Mathew Barzal, who is in the final year of his entry-level contract, to do the same.

After all, he wants to show the Islanders that he can get back to being the 85-point player he was as a rookie, not the 62-point player he was last season.

“Honestly, I’m not really in a rush to do anything,” he said. “I’m pretty confident in my game. I don’t feel like I’ve reached my full potential in the last two seasons.”

SUBBAN EXPECTED TO BE TRADED

P.K. Subban might have been blindsided when he was traded from Montreal to Nashville.

Three years later, with a contract that was more than what Roman Josi and Mattias Ekholm made combined, he had been more or less expecting to get moved.

“I was really excited. I was kind of over the moon,” Subban said of being traded to New Jersey in June. “I think I wrapped my head around it when I was traded to Nashville that it could be two years, three years, maybe four, but I never banked on being there longer than four just because of my contract. I knew that they had players they need to pay and if we didn’t win they would have to make changes.”

MAKAR NOT A FAN IN CALGARY

After scoring six points in 10 playoff games, it’s understandable that rookie defenceman Cale Makar is getting early buzz as a potential Calder Trophy candidate. Not that the Calgary Flames need to be reminded.

The 20-year-old was part of the reason why the Colorado Avalanche upset the No. 1-ranked team in the first round of the playoffs.

“It was fun. I loved it,” Makar, who is from Calgary, said of knocking off his hometown team. “I don’t know if my friends loved it as much, but I had a great time with it. It was great to get playing Calgary out of the way.”

BLUES WERE LUCKY TO BE GOOD

The St. Louis model was referenced many times by many different players on Thursday as an example of just how chaotic the NHL has become. Looking back, it’s still amazing that the Blues were dead last on Jan. 1, but then caught fire and not only made the playoffs but went on to win the Stanley Cup.

Even Ryan O’Reilly, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, still cannot believe how lucky the team was.

“It’s crazy how those little small things can make a difference,” said O’Reilly. “There’s multiple times where it could have swung the other way. So many things have to line up for you to win.”

HERE AND THERE

What does Toews think of Vancouver’s Pettersson? “He’s the next incarnation of (Pavel) Datsyuk. He’s just so tricky.” … How long did it take Boston’s Tuukka Rask to get over the Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup final? “Well, I mean, you never get over it,” he said. “But a few days. You get home with your kids and you realize there’s no hockey anymore. It’s just a sport.” … Barzal said losing John Tavares to the Leafs was never motivation. Rather it was the outside world believing his exit would doom the Islanders. “People had basically written us off as the misfits of the league, had us 30th overall. That kind of put a chip on our shoulder,” he said. “Everyone in that locker room liked John.” … After winning the Hart Trophy, has Nikita Kucherov become the best player in the league? “Offensively, obviously,” said Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau. “But I don’t think he’s an all-around player like some other guys. (Aleksander) Barkov on my team can play defensively and offensively, both sides of the rink. I feel like to be a top player, you have be a complete player.”

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